Thomas Clifford /// Nonfiction MultiMedia Producer /// Corporate Communications

It’s the small things that can make a big difference.

Anyone can implement these ideas.

And the cool part? They’re free or next to free.

See if you can sneak a few of these tricks into your next project. It will help your video story feel more believable and interesting. And rockin'.

1. Talk first. Your best storytellers are hiding right under your nose– your employees. Figure our what your video is about. Pull up a chair and get talking. Ask lots of different questions. Employees rarely get this kind of chance to be heard and recognized. You’ll be amazed at what you hear and capture.

2. Script second. Now that you’ve talked to your storytellers, you can put a script together. The secret behind to pulling this off successfully is simple– get your interviews transcribed to paper. Cut and paste your favorite quotes into a compelling story.

3. Put a dragon in your video. Add some conflict. It doesn’t have to include cars tumbling and light sabers clashing. If you solve problems for your clients, there must be a problem somewhere, right? Some challenge that needs to be overcome? Slip in a little drama. You’ll come across being more believable.

4. Capture more than you think you need. Instead of just asking a few questions during your on-camera interviews, ask several more. Go off track. Listen carefully. You’ll capture ideas for short videos or audio podcasts to be posted at a later time.

5. Keep it simple. Use stock photos from your company’s archives. If you don’t have time or resources to film additional footage outside of the interviews, compliment your interviews with still photography. You can create some interesting attention-getting results by incorporating stills into your video.

6. Keep it short. In general, 2-3 minutes seems to be the ideal time for online videos. Some studies indicate viewers drop off significantly after a minute. Of course, every project is different. If you think you need more time for your video, consider breaking up the one video into several shorter videos.

7. Show your passion. Video is the perfect medium to transmit emotions. We can see it. We can hear it. We can share it. We can even feel it. If you’re not passionate about your story, your viewers will know it in seconds.

8. Talk to the audience. Remember– your video is not about you: it’s about your audience. Every question and answer should be framed with your particular viewer in mind.

9. Add simple graphics. White text on black. Or black text on a white screen. Use title cards to break up the pace of your story. These title graphics can help create rhythm. Use title cards to ask questions, create themes, and reinforce ideas.

Of course, this list is far from complete.

Got a tip? Rocked your videos with interesting ideas? Drop a note and share it here.

---Tom

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